Last year, the football World Cup gave us plenty of joy and excitement. Unfortunately, the image that left the deepest impression was Zidane head-butting Materazzi.

With the cricket World Cup just days away, I am keeping my fingers crossed. I don’t want the month-and-a-half Caribbean extravaganza to be remembered for the wrong reasons.

Modern sport is all about winning. The stakes are sky-high, thanks to the financial returns and the accompanying perks. Sportspersons are doing anything and everything to ensure success. And, consequently, often ending up choosing the wrong methods. It’s been like that in most high-profile disciplines for a long time now. Cricket is slowly but surely joining that bandwagon.

My apprehension stems from two factors: The plethora of injuries and adoption of unfair means (in other words, cheating).

The importance of fitness in this modern age of cut-throat competition can’t be over-emphasised. Training methods have been constantly upgraded to make players fitter, stronger and more athletic. I have no problem with that. My objection is, why are these training and fitness regimes not player-specific?

Kumble said something very pertinent the other day when he remarked that he can’t become a Jonty Rhodes overnight. We all know that Kumble is not the most athletic of fielders, at the same time he has been a great matchwinner for our country and, so, has to be in the side. That’s why, Kumble’s training drill has to be different from that of Yuvraj Singh’s.

Coaches and training staff must understand that different players have different capacities to take and give. Instead, they are pushing each of them to his farthest limit and trying to make everyone a super-human. That’s just not possible.

The bar is being raised everyday, and everyone is trying to outdo the other. Don’t be surprised to see someone flying from first slip to third to take an absolutely breathtaking catch at the World Cup. My fear is that a fielder may complete the catch by landing so heavily that his collarbone gets broken.

We may even see someone scoring a double century and helping his side notch up total of 500. But by the end of the innings, that batsman could be so badly dehydrated or cramped that he may have to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

As it is, there is an over-kill of cricket for our players. On top of that, if they are over-trained, injuries are bound to happen. I believe both these factors are equally responsible for the spate of injuries we see around us.

A World Cup comes once every four years. It’s the pinnacle in every sportsperson’s career. Even the paying public looks forward to seeing the biggest stars perform at the biggest arena. A Brett Lee or a Shoaib Akhtar not playing is as much of a blow to the cricket World Cup as a Wayne Rooney or Thierry Henry being ruled out of the soccer event.

The other major concern is cheating. The match-fixing scandal has tainted cricket badly enough. Now the doping menace has seeped into this sport as well. The spirit of the game is going for a toss as everyone seeks to win by hook or by crook.

This World Cup is a big test for cricket. It’s the responsibility of all concerned to ensure that the most striking image of the ensuing tournament is not that of a badly injured cricketer being stretchered off or a someone caught cheating…

Talking about the contenders, I think this is anyone’s Cup. At least six teams among the top eight can win it. Still, if I were to pick favourites, I’d go for Australia, followed closely by South Africa.

Indians are a fit team, and certainly capable of upsetting the favourites’ applecart. Let’s hope Rahul Dravid’s men get a chance to avenge 2003 final defeat at the hands of Australia.